“I’m so sorry about that,” Justin said as he slammed the door of his car shut.
After those girls had approached him at our table, word had spread, and we had to flee Roger’s after an hour of being constantly interrupted. I didn’t even get the chance to watch Justin make a fool of himself on the mechanical bull, nor could I taste the strawberry cheesecake that was supposed to be ‘exquisite’ according to the waitress.
I didn’t mind leaving, though. While Justin got showered with attention, I just sat there, watching the entire thing. No one cared that I was sitting at the same table. They only had eyes for him. Which, in a way, I had to admit was understandable. He was the famous actor, whereas I was an unknown small-town girl.
Kudos to Justin, though. He was a master of staying friendly and patient, signing autographs, posing for selfies… How it didn’t drive him crazy, I had no clue.
I wedged my purse between my feet and clicked my seatbelt into place. “It almost felt like a zombie apocalypse in there, the way those girls came at you in a never-ending stream of swoons and screams.”
“I didn’t think people would recognize me around here,” he said.
He looked genuinely confused, even though I couldn’t figure out why. Surely, he must realize how famous he was?
“You might want to start the car,” I said, nodding toward a new group of women. Their star-thirsty eyes scanned the parking lot, no doubt hoping to catch a glimpse of Justin and turn his car over or something.
He gripped the steering wheel tight and gunned it back to Old Pine Cove. But instead of dropping me off at the inn, he continued driving.
“Where are you taking me?” I asked.
“I know a place where no one will be able to find us. Unless they’re Old Pine Cove townies, which those women certainly aren’t.”
“Um, okay,” I said, shifting in my seat.
He eyed me and threw me an encouraging smile. “Don’t worry, it’s nothing creepy.”
“Now I am truly worried,” I said.
He laughed, keeping his eyes on the road. He took a left at the snow globe factory, heading for a place I’d heard of when I was in high school, but had never visited.
The narrow road snaked up the east side of the mountain, but the car had no problem keeping a steady grip. Pine trees lined the mountainside, standing tall and unmoving in the moonlight.
We were enveloped in a bubble of silence. The car was electric, so there were no roaring engine sounds, and Justin had stopped talking as well. It didn’t feel awkward or weird to sit beside him in complete silence. It was almost as if the air between us grew more relaxed, yet more electrified the further up the mountain we went.
When Justin pulled into a clearing overlooking the town I called home, I swallowed. “You brought me to The Pine Lookout.”
The spot was well-known amongst Old Pine Cove teens, as most of them had lost their virginity there. Not me, of course. No one had ever taken me up there before. I only knew the place existed because my friends used to talk about it.
“Relax, Addy. I’m not trying to get into your pants,” Justin said, letting out a hearty laugh.
I crossed my arms in front of my chest. “First of all, you say it like you’re repulsed by the idea of getting into my pants. And second… I wouldn’t let you in even if you wanted to.”
Justin turned off the engine and turned to me. “Woah, repulsed? I never said that.”
“No, but your tone indicated it.”
He pinched his brows together. “My tone indicated nothing, Addy. All I wanted to accomplish was you feeling safe around me. I need to ask, do you hate all men, or just me?”
The sound of Justin’s phone saved me from having to answer. He looked at the screen and let out an irritated sigh. “I’ll be right back.”
He slammed the car door shut and walked away. I couldn’t hear what he was saying, but he didn’t look amused. He kept shaking his head and gesticulating wildly.
I gazed around the car’s interior, taking in the expensive leather seats with bespoke stitching and the control panel with the smooth design. I couldn’t help but laugh. How did this happen? Me, sitting in an expensive car belonging to Justin Miller, the guy I couldn’t stand.
Then again, was that still the truth? Things were shifting inside of me. Melting. As if every gesture and smile of his made the hateful feelings I harbored for him thaw. I even had to admit I wouldn’t mind if he kept chipping away at the icy barrier I’d erected for him.
Another part of me was terrified to let him in, though. It would mean forgiving him for every past mistake, and I wasn’t ready for that.
Justin got back in the car, slamming the door with a loud thud. “I want to apologize for leaving you to take that phone call, but I feel as if this entire night has been nothing but a string of apologies.”
“No worries,” I said. “Everything okay?”
I searched his face for answers, but he was good at hiding them. He was an actor after all. He locked his jaw and smiled. “It’s all good, nothing to worry about,” he said.
Yet I couldn’t shake the feeling that he wasn’t being entirely honest with me.
“How are you holding up with Diane breathing down your neck every day?” he asked, turning the conversation away from him.
I shrugged. “It’s okay. She might have a tendency to drive people to nervous breakdowns, but Asher deserves a fantastic wedding day. Besides, Diane means well. She’s stressed, that’s all.”
Justin shifted in his seat, angling his body toward me. “That might be true, but don’t let her call all the shots. You’re still the boss.”
“I know, but I need the money. She’s paying us a generous amount and I don’t want to jeopardize that. Plus, I do like being a part of this wedding.”
“Are you having money troubles?” he asked.
I shook my head. “No, no, it’s nothing like that. I’ve…”
“You’ve what?”
I pulled my eyes away from his face and stared out the window. “Nothing, you’ll think it’s silly.”
“I won’t,” he said, his voice soft. “You can tell me.”
His honest-sounding words made me turn my head back in his direction, and I took a deep breath. “I’ve got my eye on the patch of land next to the inn. I’d like to buy it and turn it into a petting zoo, but the bank won’t give me a loan unless I can pay at least twenty percent of the price upfront.”
A big smile spread across Justin’s face. “If this works out, you have to buy an alpaca. They’re such funny creatures.”
“Do you have any idea how much alpacas cost? Some are being sold for ten thousand dollars,” I said. “Each.”
“Maybe you should consider jumping into Diane’s pyramid scheme then. Didn’t she say you could make a big profit off those vacuum cleaners? You know, the ones someone sold her at a parking lot? Because that’s not shady at all, am I right?”
I laughed while shaking my head. “We shouldn’t make fun of her like that.”
“Why not? She’s not afraid of being blunt with you. Come on, Addy, you don’t have to be nice to everyone all the time. What do you want to say about Diane that might offend her?”
“I shouldn’t.”
He gave my shoulder a playful push. The sensation felt oddly fantastic. “She can’t hear you. And I won’t tell her. Just let it out.”
I bit my lip. “Okay. Her perfume smells like she’s been using the same bottle for the last thirty years,” I said.
“There, that wasn’t so bad, now was it?” Justin grinned at me, his smile thawing another icy layer.
I shook my head. “You bring out the worst in me, Justin Miller.”
“Aw, you love that about me. I’m the only person you feel comfortable enough showing your inner bad girl to.”
“Don’t flatter yourself. People have seen my bad girl side before,” I said, trying to sound cool.
He threw me a look that called me out on my bullshit. “Sure.”
“Fine, you’re right,” I said. “Other people don’t know that part of me. But the fact that you do, that I get snappy with you sometimes… That’s because you’re not the nicest guy. You can be so full of yourself sometimes.”
“Who else would I be full of if not myself?” he asked. “There’s nothing wrong with being confident, with speaking your truth and being proud of what you’ve achieved.”
I cocked my eyebrow. “There’s nothing wrong with modesty either.”
He leaned back in his seat, shoving his hands in his pockets. “I guess we’ll have to meet in the middle then. I’ll tone my famous actor vibes down, and you speak up for yourself more often.”
“It couldn’t hurt to try,” I said. “But I’m not convinced you can do it. It would mean you’d have to stop posting selfies on Instagram, looking all brawny and smug.”
“I’ll put a paper bag over my head next time. That’ll help with the smug looks. The muscles… Yeah, can’t do anything about that. If you have them, you might as well show them to the world,” he said with a grin that set my insides on fire.
As I looked at him, a relaxed smile on his face, hands resting in his pockets, hair spilling out from under his cap… I caught a glimpse of the guy he was without the labels the world had given him. In the tiny confines of this car, he was no longer Justin Miller, award-winning actor with the dazzling smile and the overconfident talk. In here, he was Justin Miller, the small-town guy who needed someone he could talk to without being afraid of having his words twisted. Someone who didn’t blindly adore him. Someone… like me.
He’d told me he wanted me to feel safe around him. But what if he was looking for that same safety from me?
He had closed his eyes, his broad chest rising up and down with every breath. “This silence feels so good. I can’t remember the last time I was able to hear nothing.”
“Then why did you break it with your chatter?” I asked, laughing. “You never shut up, do you?”
He opened his eyes. “Stop it. Admit that this is nice.”
I did nothing of the sort, but I did smile like a moron. Because he was right. It was nice.
I stared at the lights below, illuminating Old Pine Cove. Life was so simple around here, yet somehow Justin coming back had complicated everything for me.
“Thank you for having a burger with me, Addy,” he said.
“Too bad I couldn’t finish it in peace, thanks to your fans.”
“We’ll have to do it again then,” he said, his words nothing more than a whisper.
I grinned. “We’ll see about that.”
In the distance, two headlights crept up the road toward us. Justin and I exchanged a look.
“I think that’s our cue to get out of here,” I said.
“You’re right. I don’t know who’s in that car and what kind of activities they’ve got planned, but let’s not hang around to find out,” Justin said. He started the car and pulled away from the clearing.
I got my phone out of my bag, pretending to read a message. Instead, I slid it on silent and opened the camera app. I angled the phone so that I had a perfect shot of Justin and snapped a pic. Okay, five pics. I wanted to remember this night before the clock struck twelve and I’d be back to hating him.